Higher education and indigenous peoples: experiences, studies and debates in Latin America and other regions of the world

Abstract

The universe of Higher Education experiences by/for/with indigenous peoples currently underway on a global scale constitutes an increasingly important and diverse academic and social field - in a broad sense. The advances in this field are the result of the struggles of the indigenous peoples, as well as those of the anti-racism, human rights, and popular education, social movements. They have also been associated with the institutional practices of some universities and other types of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), as well as those of some intergovernmental and international cooperation agencies, various kinds of social organizations, private foundations, sectors of various churches, and some government agencies. These advances have also been possible thanks to the commitment of a wide variety of individuals, such as leaders, elders and wise people of local organizations and communities; students and teachers of all educational levels; researchers and officials of universities and other HEIs; including both members of those peoples and other people who are not, or do not self-identify as such. This article presents an overview of this field of experiences and studies in Australia, Canada, Latin America, New Zealand, and the United States, with some complementary references to its development in Norway and the Republic of South Africa.